A DAY IN HAVANA

Mar 27, 2020 | By: Dave Reyno

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When I was 21 years old my grandfather passed away and all the grandchildren were left a small inheritance. I could have invested or squandered it. Being 21 years old I decided to spend it and booked a tour of the Caribbean islands from Antigua to Grenada on a tall ship. It was a life experience that I am forever grateful for although the BWAI flight from Miami to Antigua was not the best due to extreme turbulence.

Later in my mid 20s the studio owner who hired me for my first full-time photography job became a newly licensed pilot. Myself and a couple of coworkers went up in a small plane with him from Shearwater, however we hit a cross wind when landing and were very close to crashing. It was the pilots first and last time flying leaving me with a fear of flying for years.

In the next 20 plus years that followed I have had several offers to do destination wedding photography. I always declined, not only because humidity kills cameras, but also because deep down I still had not completely gotten over my fear of flying.

A little over two years ago Pam won a trip to Mexico. This forced me to face my fear of flying head-on and take an amazing vacation with my wife! It was such a great experience that we both decided we would do another trip in two years.

It had always been on my bucket list to visit Havana, Cuba. The first week of February, 2020 the coronavirus virus seemed like a world away, so we proceeded with our vacation. We stayed at a resort in Varadero, Cuba and did a bus tour to Havana. In fact, a couple of the images posted here were taken through the window of the bus. The colours and culture of Havana was all that I imagined it would be! Unfortunately our bus tour had limited walking time, and we weren't able to truly explore on our own as much as I would have liked.

Someday, when the world returns to some sort of normal I hope to return there and really explore the city with a camera in hand. At the time of this writing there is a feeling of uncertainly. It is my sincerest wish for you to listen to what the health officials are saying and to stay home and stay safe!